Wireless phone surveys provide immediacy in the sense that consumers can fill out surveys close to the moments of shopping, decision making, and consuming. For example, wireless phone surveys have been used to (1) capture impulse purchases as they are made and consumed, (2) collect data about side effects in real time from patients who are participating in pharmacological testing, and (3) survey wireless customers. A company named Kinesis Survey Research offers researchers the option of attaching a miniature bar code reader to a mobile phone that will discretely collect and store bar codes of purchased items. Finally, wireless phone panels may be especially appropriate for surveying teens, early adopters, and impulse buyers.
Researchers primarily survey in either text-based or web-based formats. In short messaging (text messaging) format, the respondent can access the survey and display it as text messages on a wireless phone screen. The texting format is used for simple polling and very short surveys. In Europe, mobile phone penetration rates are very high and text messag usage is higher than in the United States, so it is often preferred to wireless web surveys